Monday, 29 March 2010

Retro bold: besame Enchanting lipstick Carmine 204

Sometimes makeup is not meant for the sake of prettiness!

Did I write that? (blasphemy!!!)

Well yes. After a time that my aim of wearing makeup was to look like a better and prettier version like me, I have been experimenting days that I absolutely do not want to go for girly prettiness anymore. Those days, pretty does not suit me.

I want some warpaint...something not pretty, but bold and fierce. Something that says...'don't mess with me', or 'here I am', or perhaps...'if you want to peck me on the cheeks, I will put a big mark on you that marks you with my present'.

So a retro coloured lipstick is the thing to go for:

Bésame, by Gabriela Hernandes...

Retro it is...from the box to the bullet-shaped lipstick...

If I semi-complained in my last post about persons who cannot see that you are wearing lipsticks, well, this is a lipstick for the unsubtile watcher. They will absolutely know you are wearing lipstick.

Unfortunately, this lippy contains parabens.

On the good side, it contains Ethyl Vanillin, which is the synthetic form of vanilla. This is plain vanilla to most of us, as the real mcCoy is hardly being used in cosmetic and foods anymore (the true madagascar kind). Often people shy away when they hear the word 'synthetic' combined with perfume or scent, but most synthetic forms are absolutely brilliant in duplicating the real thing. And more, they have the ability to last longer as well.

On a side note, one of Hermes latest perfumes, Hermes Vanilla Galante is one of the few perfumes that actually uses real vanilla (read more over here on a blog that actually specialises on perfume). On an extra side note...I think I want to have a sample of Hermes Vanilla Galante...

It is probably the closest thing of ever owning something Hermes. You see, I have this lovely user name birkinbagbeauty, however, I do not own a Hermes Birkin, and I am absolutely no beauty...Thus, the name has nothing to do with reality...(still, nice to dream about)

Lipstick! Back to the subject! Ok, the vanilla is something I am happy about, as it lingers in the scent of the lipstick...a soft, delicate vanilla...

Carmine 204 is the colour I chose. As I said, I was not going for the pretty...It might be an elegant kind of beauty but not a girly pretty. Thus, the colour is a orangy red reminicent of the 50s (or the Mad Men type of women who wear lipsticks with preciseness).

This is a contrasting pictures on many levels:

Ofcourse, the obvious thing is that I am showing the size again. Ugh, I do not like sizing up products and comparing them. But it is a kind of review, thus have to show you how dainty the lipstick is.

Back to the topic of pretty versus elegant...I placed a Mac Hello Kitty next to it! Yep, it is the ultimate form of girliness and kawaii ...How different the golden and boldly pigmented bullet is of Bésame. Innocence and maturity...it sounds like a William Blake poem, ;p

Swatch! Swatch! Swatch!

The pigment is heavy but it is not a matte and flat lipstick. I like this about the Enchanting lipstick. The soft shine or glow you can see in the swatch is present on the lips as well. It optically makes the lips a bit softer, even though I still wear a full-on orangy red lipstick.

It is also possible to remove that shine from your lips, if you like, after blotting several times with a tissue. That makes it more matte and more pressed on.

Although the lipstick fades reasonably after a couple of hours, I would still suggest checking up on the fading process, as I personally find that a lipstick with this character has to be freshly lustrous. I believe that those perfect model-y types can wear their smudgy lipstick and still looks insanely sexy with it, but I am a real woman and faded or smudgy looks more sloppy than sexy...

Thus, it is more high maintainance than the average my lips-but-better type of my collection, but that is precisely what the type of woman who wears this lipstick would not care about.